Comparative Analysis of Program Development Processes in Six Professions

This study was designed to examine and describe planning strategies used by persons developing continuing professional education (CPE) programs for six professional fields. From the description of practice in the six professions, a general model portraying the program development process was developed. The research methods used to guide the inquiry were those of grounded theory. Results indicate planners attend to at least six clusters of activities in their program development processes in a fairly consistent sequence. Results also indicate that there is limited use of knowledge resources available in the literature. Planners did, however, use a wide variety of resources available inside the university and outside the university to plan programs. Differences in strategies of program development in various professional fields did exist, most often in the order of activities and the emphasis given to specific activities in the program development clusters.